Is The Idea Of American Figure Skating's 'Ice Princess' Dead?

gammarae · Jan 23, 2015

Am I the only one who remembers the time when the female single skater competition was referred to as Women's Program? Then someone decided that wasn't "refined" enough, so we went back to "Ladies." I say if it is "Ladies" the other side should be "Gentlemen" to keep it balanced.

gkelly · Jan 23, 2015

It's always officially been "ladies" since 1902.

Sometimes commentators or posters say "women" instead to sound less old-fashioned and sexist in the late 20th/early 21st century.

shiroKJ · Jan 23, 2015

gkelly said:
It's always officially been "ladies" since 1902.

Sometimes commentators or posters say "women" instead to sound less old-fashioned and sexist in the late 20th/early 21st century.

I always enjoy your posts gkelly . Its like I'm taking a class on Figure skating and I love it! :bow:

Jammers · Jan 23, 2015

chairmanmao said:
No female American skaters have ever appealed to me. The lot of them are the cutesy litte miss something type. They do produce trashy types like Harding and Wagner once in a while but they don't appeal to me either. Why can't they produce elegant skaters like Mao and Yuna? The closest I can think of is Kwan but she still seemed unrefined to me.

Yeah right because Fleming,Lynn, Hamil, Kwan, Cohen were truck drivers on ice. :rolleye:

minze · Jan 24, 2015

TwinnerA said:
Except Ashley sounds like she owns Nationals when she calls it "my title". The only skater that I remember "owning" it in my lifetime was the Kween!

And that is reality.

CutieP · Jan 24, 2015

Jammers said:
Yeah right because Fleming,Lynn, Hamil, Kwan, Cohen were truck drivers on ice.

Zamboni drivers

TwinnerA · Jan 24, 2015

Sophie-Anna said:
Sometimes I don't like some things what Ashley says in her interviews but I love her skating and personally I like Ashley more than ''all the time smiling princess'' Gracie.It doesn't mean I hate Gracie because it's not true she had some great programs I'm just saying I like Ashley more.

I didn't see a hint of a smile from Gracie during the press conference!

witcher · Jan 24, 2015

No, it isn't.

Just look at Courtney Hicks position after clean, energetic and engaging SP skate.
The only skater that wasn't boring to me yesterday.

Plisskin · Jan 25, 2015

Jammers said:
Yeah right because Fleming,Lynn, Hamil, Kwan, Cohen were truck drivers on ice.

Lol I know right? It's annoying when people make sweeping generalizations based on fiction.

Mathman · Jan 25, 2015

I think the decline of the ice princess is part of a larger cultural evolution. The "glamorous Hollywood movie star" is dead, too. The "wholesome Miss America" is dead.

Meoima · Jan 25, 2015

I am waiting for someone like Debi Thomas to appear again.

CutieP · Jan 25, 2015

Mathman said:
I think the decline of the ice princess is part of a larger cultural evolution. The "glamorous Hollywood movie star" is dead, too. The "wholesome Miss America" is dead.

These days a woman is so cheaply sexualised that our culture no longer has the "patience" to create these icons.

rollerblade · Jan 25, 2015

drivingmissdaisy said:
"Trashy type" Wagner actually has two elegant programs this season, despite the fact she comes across as hypercompetitive in interviews.

Come on now. I don't think I'd classify her Moulin Rouge program as "elegant".

Sophie-Anna · Jan 25, 2015

TwinnerA said:
I didn't see a hint of a smile from Gracie during the press conference! &#55357;&#56843;

I'm watching the press conference right now and you're right

I just had feeling during the GP season she was just smiling all the time maybe too much. Now I'm not so sure.

gammarae · Jan 25, 2015

gkelly said:
It's always officially been "ladies" since 1902.

Sometimes commentators or posters say "women" instead to sound less old-fashioned and sexist in the late 20th/early 21st century.

Thank you for correcting my memory. And may I also say, then we are WAY OVERDUE for a change.

skateluvr · Jan 25, 2015

Why is is some posters can call a national champion of 3 times trashy and others get warned for nothing? Hypocricacy begins at home. I was shocked to see Ashley called trashy in the same breathe as the admitted criminal accomplice called Tonya Harding. Tonya was very rough but she had it tough. I feel for her always did but her subsequent life and jobs earned her the adjective. And many know in their hearts she knew the plot from day 1. I feel sad and don't like to even call Tonya trailer trash because she did more with her talent than most and had she a family like Nancy Kerrigans she might be an Olympic medalist and commentator herself.

Surprising what sneaks by. Not very fair.

Mathman · Jan 25, 2015

CutieP said:
These days a woman is so cheaply sexualised that our culture no longer has the "patience" to create these icons.

I would say it is the opposite. In those days women were marginalized and slotted into sex roles like Miss America, Movie star, Ice princess. The demise of those stereotypes is a step in the right direction. The least figure skating can do is try to keep up.

lefeury · Jan 26, 2015

In regards to Ashley Wagner, Johnny said something along the lines of "She threw down the ice and ripped her weave out" not sure of the exact words, but that does not sound like a princess,, That sounds like a beautiful warrior.

SoundtracksOnIce · Jan 26, 2015

Krunchii said:
m She's obviously a modern, more cheerleader type but when she smiles at the part of the music when the man dies, it's obvious she doesn't really understand what she's skating to and or really care.

I would have to watch the program again to see the specific moment (I have never seen Phantom) but off and it could be the difference between interpreting the music itself versus portraying the appropriate character. For example if you took Yuna Kim's cut of "On My Own" from Les Miserables - the character of Eponine is very tragic (musical version, not the novel) and it's a very serious song. So if you wanted to portray Eponine, you definitely should not be smiling at that part. But if you're just skating and interpret what the piece means to you, smiling would be perfectly appropriate, because that cut is very uplifting. It sounds like some kind of powerful reunion or recovery moment.

Krunchii · Jan 26, 2015

SoundtracksOnIce said:
I would have to watch the program again to see the specific moment (I have never seen Phantom) but off and it could be the difference between interpreting the music itself versus portraying the appropriate character. For example if you took Yuna Kim's cut of "On My Own" from Les Miserables - the character of Eponine is very tragic (musical version, not the novel) and it's a very serious song. So if you wanted to portray Eponine, you definitely should not be smiling at that part. But if you're just skating and interpret what the piece means to you, smiling would be perfectly appropriate, because that cut is very uplifting. It sounds like some kind of powerful reunion or recovery moment.

I haven't seen the musical in a while, it was not when someone was dying sorry, it was Christine singing to her late father for guidance at his grave because she is confused between the Phantom and Raoul. It's kind of dramatic situation, you should watch the musical, I loved it, this song was kind of like the calm before the storm.
http://youtu.be/U37C2atFEgQ?t=1m38s
Here Gracie is smiling during her spiral here when Sarah Brightman is singing "Wishing you were somehow here again"
Like a longing smile could work but it's just a pageanty smile that doesn't match. I realized after rewatching the SA LP, there's been some tweaks to match choreography better to the music but it's still not doing it for me. She doesn't feel the music nor do I feel like she's telling the story.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXY70Oml86w
If you see Sarah Brightman, when she starts to sing the chorus, she is staring off into the distance, kind of closes her eyes as if to reminisce and it fits the moment, there's a music video for this song too and she is staring into the camera, looking kind of forlorn, wide eyed, because on the inside, she's feeling very troubled

Is The Idea Of American Figure Skating's 'Ice Princess' Dead?

gammarae

gkelly

shiroKJ

Back to the forest you go.

Jammers

minze

CutieP

TwinnerA

witcher

Match Penalty

Plisskin

Mathman

Meoima

Match Penalty

CutieP

rollerblade

Sophie-Anna

gammarae

skateluvr

Mathman

lefeury

SoundtracksOnIce

Krunchii

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